I’m loving the look and sound of these ukes, but having a hard time pulling the trigger on something that hasn’t passed the test of time! Is it a brand new brand? Having trouble finding much info….
This is a new house brand for HMS/TUS developed by Andrew Katakis his ownself.
Long time lurker, here! Just actually joined to post a similar question
My understanding is that Pono is the production brand of Ko'olau, which is under Noa Bonk (Andrew's brother). Noa tends to be more steeped in tradition, which is why Ko'olau ukes don't vary too much with colors stains, inlays, cutaways, and other bells and whistles.
theukulelesite.com
U ppl are not watching the Ukulele Site podcast closely enough.
Kidding aside, I gotta tell ya, I'm completely blown away by these 'Oli ukes. The first time I saw one was about a month ago, in a podcast episode with the Jake Signature Kamaka (now in stock at HMS/TUS after a 5 year absence!), an I'wii bearclaw spruce tenor from Oahu master luthier Charlie Fukuba (I LOVE his stuff!!!!), a new Kanile'a and a bunch of new Koolaus, and I thought that this 'Oli cedar/macassar ebony was by far the best-sounding uke on the episode. I think I have this cued up properly, but you're looking for 15.55 in this episode to have Kalei Gamiao take 'er for a spin.
(This is from the clips channel of course, but you know what? Check the whole episode. I SWEAR, even going head-to-head with top of the line ukes from Kamaka, Kanile'a, Koolau, and some gems from a couple of my favorite luthiers, this 'Oli SLAYED. I ain't kidding even a little.)
These are made in the same Java facility that makes Ponos, and Kalei recently took a trip there with Andrew. Here's a lovely clip from that trip.
We've all still got a lot to learn about these in the real world, but anyone looking to learn more can definitely check out their appearances in all of the past month's TUS/HMS podcast. I'll add a couple more clips to hold you over while we all get up to speed on these.
I know we have a lot of concert scale fans here, so here's Kalei with a mango concert for ya!
Ditto for baritones -- here's Corey and lovely-sounding spruce-ebony model, including a thorough description of its appointments.
I think a lot of folks are gonna find a lot to like in this product line. I'm sure seeing some stuff that's making me itching to take one for a spin!
Think it sold relatively quickly.
), but I think in general, the top end of the ukulele market is artificially low because we're talking about ukuleles. Guitars are the easy and obvious comparison, but there's LOTS of instruments that cost more than these.
Not to mention the 8+ books he's putting together with Queen Lili’okulani's music. That's insane and awesome! While ALSO teaching how to read music on an actual scale and not tabs?!? Ian's doing the uke lord's work.
They talk a little about it in the full-length podcast episode I linked above. TUS/HMS ordered FIVE of them back in 2019, and all five of them sold almost immediately. This is pretty typical for these, which is why it took TUS five years to get any of them at all.
I think about this kind of thing when the "how much is too much for an ukulele?" threads pop up. For YOU, the answer is whatever it is. Maybe it's $200. Maybe $500. I don't know. It's YOUR number. But objectively speaking, it's obvious that Kamaka and TUS could be charging more for the Jake Blues if they're gone instantly at $4995.
And in saying that I think the 'Oli cedar/ebony sounded better than the Jake (and listening again this morning, I still think that), I'm not saying that the Jake isn't worth $4995. I think it is, and then some. It looks like it costs as much as it does, and sounds like it too -- and I'm serious, I think it would still be priced right at a thousand more.
I'm glad for everyone who bought it at this price of course and I'm not trying to cause any trouble (this time anyway
(That's assuming that you like the look at all, which you may not -- a little blingy for me, honestly -- or that you like tenors, which I know is a complete no-go for plenty of folks. In which case, the value to YOU might be less than zero, and you're absolutely correct about that.)
That's what's so intriguing to me about the whole concept of punching above its weight. I think the Jake IS punching above its weight in some obvious ways, but I feel about the 'Olis that I'm hearing the way that I did when I first heard the lattice-braced Pono Master Series -- punching way WAY above their weight.
What finally moved me off the fence to make the PMS spruce/mahogany my first major uke purchase was holding it in my hands and playing it alongside ukes that cost much more, up to 4x more and feeling like even if I had the budget to spend more (which I absolutely did not), I'd still have picked this one.
That's what I like about the question posed by @a green field and our first answer from @saltytri:
For all me playfully giving grief to folks who've missed the Ukulele Site podcast, I'm quite behind on them myself. I just today caught up with this clip with Ian O'Sullivan, who's become something of the bard of Disney soundtracks on ukulele. THis is something I wasn't aware that we needed as much as I now believe that we do. These are some of the most enduring tunes of our lifetimes, and he's doing some really special things with them. Once again with the cedar/ebony tenor:
theukulelesite.com
Pineapples coming?! Sweet!!As is true with us all! Love seeing the progress you're making, man!
This is an awesome goal. Saves HMS time when receiving new inventory too!
